State Briefs: May 22

Firefighters on Wednesday battled a small brush fire in the Angeles National Forest near Santa Clarita.

The blaze had consumed about 15 acres. About 100 firefighters and three helicopters had it 80 percent contained, said Forest Service spokeswoman Dee Dechert.

The fire started about 3:15 p.m. when a transformer burst into flames and ignited the brush beneath it, said Los Angeles County Fire spokesman Sammy Padilla.

Also Wednesday, about 50 firefighters put out a one-acre blaze near the 210 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers.

SACRAMENTO

Committee rejects salary freeze attempt

An attempt to freeze state elected officials' salaries when California is battling budget deficits got a frosty reception Wednesday from a Senate committee.

The Rules Committee voted 3-1 to reject a constitutional amendment that would bar the Citizens Compensation Commission from handing out raises to the governor, legislators and other state elected officers in any year in which the legislative analyst determines there is a deficit.

The measure would also stipulate that the commission has the power to reduce officials' salaries as well as grant raises or impose pay freezes.

The author, Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, said the amendment was a "common sense measure that basically says if the state doesn't have money then we in the Legislature shouldn't take a pay raise."

"It's really tying our salaries to the financial health of the state," he said. "Every other business has to evaluate finances before granting raises."

But Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, said the threat of a pay freeze or pay cut could give legislators the "perverse incentive" to support tax increases to balance the budget.

State elected officials' salaries range from $212,179 a year for the governor — although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't accept state pay — to $116,208 for rank-and-file lawmakers. Legislative leaders in the Assembly and Senate make more.

SAN FRANCISCO

Company to pay for tainted lunchboxes

A judge has ordered a Los Angeles-based company to pay more than $10 million for selling the state lead-tainted lunchboxes.

The company, T.A. Creations, sold 100,000 children's lunchboxes to the California Department of Health for a promotion after the company had been warned about the health risks posed by its products in 2006.

The state announced a recall of 56,000 of the giveaway lunchboxes last September. It also warned parents about another 300,000 lunchboxes that were distributed by the state in the past several years.

Tuesday's judgment stemmed from a lawsuit by the Center for Environmental Health. Under the judgment, $7.5 million will go to the state, and $2.5 million will go to the nonprofit.